Yahoo News Chris Kamara shares underactive thyroid diagnosis
Football pundit Chris Kamara says he can’t wait to be back to thinking and feeling his "normal self" following a diagnosis of underactive thyroid.
Kamara, 63, revealed on Channel 4 show Steph’s Packed Lunch that he has been diagnosed with the condition after going for scans for ‘brain fog’. He thanked his followers for their support after the show.
Read: Steph McGovern replaced on Packed Lunch as she self-isolates
“To say I am overwhelmed by the kind words from everybody about my thyroid condition would be an understatement,” he wrote on Twitter.
To say I am overwhelmed by the kind words from everybody about my thyroid condition would be an understatement. Thank you all so much! 🥰
— Chris Kamara (@chris_kammy) April 14, 2021
Kamara went for ‘brain fog’ scans after expressing dementia fears following an appearance on the One Show. He couldn’t remember the details of his album when Michael Ball asked him about the names of some of the songs.
"That was the first time my wife said to me, 'there's something not quite right, you need to get it checked out'."
Following the ongoing research into links between excessive heading during football matches and dementia, Kamara explained that he was worried his ‘brain fog’ could be linked to his early days on the pitch.
Watch: Chris Kamara on how football can unite
Read more: Chris Kamara releasing Christmas record for album debut
Speaking to host Steph McGovern on Steph’s Packed Lunch about his scan at Pontefract radiology department, he revealed that he had no loss of brain mass and very few lesions, but that he has an underactive thyroid:
“I'm suffering with a swollen tongue which causes you to slur your words, slows down, not your thoughts because the thoughts are there, but transferring those thoughts to the mouth to get you to talk coherently.
"All that sort of stuff. Feeling cold, even warm days you're shivering and cold, weakness, muscle fatigue, tiredness…"
He later added on Twitter:
“I now feel such a fool that in (hopefully) a matter of weeks due to readily available medication I can be back to feeling and thinking ‘as my normal self’.”
“If you have any feelings that things may not be ‘right’, if your family and friends notice anything and show concern, then please do get yourself checked out before it gets worse.”
If you have any feelings yourself that things may not be ‘right’, if your family and friends notice anything and show concern, then please do get yourself checked out before it gets worse.
— Chris Kamara (@chris_kammy) April 14, 2021
"Thanks to @PackedLunchC4 @StephLunch for helping me raise awareness for @DementiaUK & @thyroiduk_org issues."
Watch: Kammie gets his jab
